What's Right With Islam Is What's Right With America by Imam
Feisal Abdul Rauf
Our good friend and founder of
the Institute for Interfaith Dialog (www.interfaithdialog.org), Gunar
Arslan, Ph.D, will be joining us for our discussion on Feb. 8th. About the Book Club:
Rev. Greg McDonell, former AAIM Board
President and current Pastor of Central Presbyterian Church hosts the
monthly Spirituality Book Club to discuss contemporary texts addressing the
intersections of faith and public life. The Book Club is open to the
community, and suggestions for works to discuss in the coming months are
welcome.
All Book Club meeting take place at Book People, 7:00-8:30pm. Book People
603 N Lamar Blvd
Austin, Texas 78703
"Jesus In India" Film Presentation
02/10/2010 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
University Hills Branch Library 4721 Loyola Lane
Free showing of Jesus in India with author/filmmaker. This movie explores
Jesus' lost years in India. Question and answer session following movie.
Free and open to the public.
Contact:
frank.schmitzer@ci.austin.tx.us
Green Steps of Iran - Art installation, UT Campus
02/12/2010 4:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
What: Green
Steps of Iran art installation on the UT campus in
support of the Iranian Green Movement.
The brutal crackdown of green
protesters continued on Thursday, Feb 12, 2010, in many cities across Iran, on this the aniversary of
the 1979 revolution.
The regime extended the abuse to include those members of
the Khomeini, Khatami, Moussavi and Karrubi families who attended the counter
demonstrations. Mir
Hossein Moussavi, then main opposition leader was kept from joining the
counterprotest. Zahra Rahnavard (Moussavi's
wife, university professor) was beaten with batons, escaping only when the green
crowd rescued her from the security forces. Mehdi Karrubi (2009 presidential
candidate and another Green Movement leader) was peppered sprayed and his son
arrested. There are rumors that ex-president Khatami was also mistreated.
Khatami's brother an ex-parliament member and his wife, Ayatollah Khomeini's
granddaughter were also held in custody for about an hour by the security forces
today before before being let go.
We in Austin, so many miles away
and safe from any persecution will be gathering on the West Mall
Febuary 12th to show our solidarity with these courageous people who refuse to
be beaten down.
"Green Steps of Iran" is a
collaborative green shoe installation piece in support of the Iranian Green
Movement. Please come by and support the movement on Friday the 12th
of February on the UT campus.
Sponsored by Austin for Iran UT, Iranians for Peace and Justice UT,
Austin Permanent Peace Protest.
What: The first Austin Refugee Roundtable Workshop is a new effort to bring
together local refugee service providers with faith communities
interested in issues affecting Austin's refugee population. The purpose
is to help identify gaps in services and marshal resources to meet
those needs. Additionally, the organizers are hoping to stimulate
information sharing about "best practices" when working with refugees
and increasing efforts to raise public awareness about the presence and
needs of refugees in our community.
For Whom: Representatives of Non-Profits working directly with Refugees are
welcome, along with 1-2 members of any faith community interested in
helping with refugee-related issues.
In addition, information will be shared about an upcoming fundraiser at
the Paramount Theater on May 1 that will benefit local refugee service
providers. The event "Imaculee in Austin" will feature a a talk by
Imaculee Ilibagiza, author of the book, "Left to Tell" about the
Rwandan Holocaust. http://www.immaculeeinaustin.com/
The Red Bench: TONIGHT IS CANCELED
02/23/2010 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
The event listed below has been canceled due to weather. Please stay tuned for future Red Bench programming.
First United Methodist Church's Family Life Center 13th and Lavaca Streets FREE - Register Today!
Please join us on Tuesday, February 23, 2010.This free program is open to everyone and will start at 6:00 pm at
First United Methodist Church's Family Life Center, located at the
northwest corner of 13th and Lavaca streets. Click here to view map.
Parking: You can park on the third level (or higher) of
the garage located immediately south of the FUMC
Family Life Center. The entrance is located on 13th St. near Lavaca. The gate will be up and you will
not be charged for parking.
Food: A light vegetarian dinner will be provided at 6:00 pm. Our program will begin at 6:30 and conclude by 8:00.
Special Red Bench Program
Tuesday, August 31 - 6:30 pm
Congregation Beth Israel - 3901 Shoal Creek Blvd. Please RSVP to participate
A Heartfelt Response to Fear
by Tom Spencer, CEO of AAIM
Finding
acceptance has never been easy for religious minorities in America, and
it comes as no surprise that recent Muslim immigrants as well as
American born Muslims would be dealing with suspicion and anxiety. Add
to that, the toxic brew of religious extremism and terrorism afoot in
the world and the situation could easily turn ugly. Well, that moment
has arrived. It is a moment that AAIM, (Austin Area Interreligious
Ministries) the organization I lead, has been working to prevent.
Almost two years ago, when AAIM was creating our new dialog program, The Red Bench: Interfaith Conversations that Matter,
we faced a challenge. We wanted to focus our dialogs on points of
commonality between the world’s great faith traditions, but we needed
to decide what those points were. Our planning team was composed of
people from multiple faiths and I posed the question, "What do all of
the traditions share in common?"
One of the participants answered, "We all believe in God."
I countered that that was not really true, that Buddhism certainly
counts as one of the great religious traditions and is non-deistic. So,
I pressed the group for more ideas.
A few awkward moments of silence followed, and then one of the Muslim
participants spoke up, “All of our religions try to help us become
better people.”
This simple yet very powerful insight led to a year’s worth of
transformative conversations on topics such as compassion, forgiveness,
balance, duty, and gratitude – behaviors or ways of being that are
collectively known as “virtues.” Don’t we all recognize these as the
hallmarks of what it means to be a “better person?” As they unfolded, The Red Bench
dialogs generated rich explorations as the participants shared their
personal struggles to become the “better people” they aspire to be.
They also learned a great deal about the faiths (and sometimes the
doubts) of the other participants.
On Tuesday, August the 31st, we will be holding a special edition of The Red Bench program that will focus on a very different trait shared by all humans: fear. Specifically,
as we gather in small groups to listen to and share with one another,
we will be addressing the following question: “How do we deal with the
fear of Islam and the consequences of our own fears?”
The heated rhetoric and fear mongering surrounding the proposed Muslim
community center in New York has now spread across the nation. In
communities large and small planned mosques are being protested and
some zealots are even organizing “Koran burnings.”
Americans have faced fearful times before, and we have always, in
Lincoln’s words, found a way to allow “the better angels of our nature”
to prevail. Austin Area Interreligious Ministries is filled with
“better angels,” individuals who are committed to building healthy,
respectful relationships between the faith traditions. We do this work
not because it is the “nice” thing to do, but rather because it is
essential. Any honest accounting of the threat to our children’s future
would place inter-religious strife near the top of the list.
The name of our dialog program, The Red Bench,
was inspired by Dr. Betty Sue Flowers, the former Executive Director of
the LBJ Presidential Library. Dr. Flowers once made the point we should
have designated places for “conversations that matter.” She suggested
placing red benches in public places that would have plaques suggesting
that sitting on the bench meant that you were open to a genuine
heartfelt conversation.
This is the time for a heartfelt conversation about the fear that so
many people are feeling. American Muslims are afraid of a violent back
lash sweeping the nation. Many others are afraid that we are playing
into the hands of extremists when we turn our backs on our heritage of
tolerance. Still others are simply afraid of a faith they do not
understand and of a people they do not know.
All of us, perhaps most especially our Muslim brothers and sisters,
need to overcome our fears at this moment. This will involve engaging
one another, not retreating into our respective shells. I ask that
Austinites of all faiths (and those with none) to join us Tuesday
evening at 6:30 PM for a conversation that will truly matter.
This special edition of The Red Bench: Interfaith Conversations that Matter
will take place at Congregation Beth Israel a Reform Jewish community
at 3901 Shoal Creek Boulevard. (Special provision will be made for
Muslims who are observing Ramadan - an area will be set aside for
evening prayers and light refreshments will be served following sunset.)
Charter for Compassion
Please join AAIM in signing the Charter for Compassion. On December 31, 2009, the
names of all affirmers will be sent along with the
Charter for Compassion to 5 world leaders whose countries are engaged
in conflict. By signing, we affirm that we will dedicate the next decade to building Compassion.
GAFDI Monthly Meeting
